Water is 71 degrees, normal, dingy; black bass fair on artificial baits; all other species slow.

Report provided by Bull Shoals Boat Dock:
There have been numerous reports of huge rainbows being caught on the Spring River. The water level on the river is high and stained. This is a great place to wade fish. Canoe season is over and we have much less traffic on stream. Be sure to wear cleared boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot spot has been Dam Three Access. The hot flies have been brown woolly buggers with a bit of flash, cerise and hot pink San Juan worms and Y2Ks.

White River Trout Unlimited has scheduled a Cabin Fever Fund-Raiser for Saturday, February 25th here in Mountain Home. This party will be a great way to celebrate impending spring weather and raise money for the chapter's many projects! Visit their website for more details.

Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

Well l am not sure as yet if we have seen winter or we will see typical
days of cold wintry weather, so far its been a unreal warm winter but lets not be too complacent as we can still see some typical winter days during March.

The lower levels of rain fall this past few months has more or less kept
the lakes at pool levels, all be it we have seen some days of very high generation for the most part its been low levels of generation with days or periods of zero generation which has been great for days out there on the river.

I have fished this year from Bull Shoals dam down to Shipps Ferry, all of which have produced some very good fish a number days, particularly the upper sections of the river from Wildcat to the dam so far as good numbers of Browns in the 16 to 25 ins range.
Read the full report

Hello Fly Fishers!

Norfork is holding good numbers of average size fish at this time, Browns,
Bows and Cutts, Brooks are hard to find nowadays. In fact l saw only 1 Brook caught at Bull shoals last year and that was a great day for my customer as he had to the best of my knowledge the only grand slam
for the White.

Lake temps are good, not the typical low 40s, even so we have seen some
good shad kills during the very high water generations and if you were there the bite was real good.

So what are we looking toward through March into April. I have already seen some sparse hatches of caddis, l would predict we will see as we have this past few years enormous caddis hatches providing us with some of the best topwater fly fishing you will find any place else. Hopefully we will expect to see larger numbers of hatch mid March and from then on if the
warm weather holds up. I am expecting it to be awesome fishing once again this year.

Best options as of now will include during generated water drift fishing
lower water flows. Dead drift using combinations of white tail and prism midges, sowbugs in gray and tan, scuds in gray and olive, micro prism worms, soft hackles green and cream rock worms. If there is any evidence of fish interest to caddis then DW SLF trans caddis pupa, elk hair caddis, Davy's caddis, hares ear and green tail soft hackles. Wet flies would include Invicta, Wickhams, Hares ear, March Brown, Woodcock and Hares ear or green.

For wade anglers fishing the White all the above will work. Add to that if
fishing Bull shoals, Wildcat and other low water zones smaller midge pupa and midge emergers in sizes 16 to 22 to 5 or 6x. In the case of midge pupa have with you bead head versions of zebra and prism in colors
of red, black, tan, gray with beads heads in different colors, copper, silver, nickel being the best choices. Small soft hackles and drys such as Adams are also good bets.

The above will also apply for Norfork when fishing low water conditions.

If they do run a high water flush then opt to fish some kind of shad imitation, a very good chance to nail one of the few big browns that have as yet have not moved downstream from the dam zones. It will also be worth to drift line the banks with large streamers which has been for some very productive with a number of fish in the 25 to 30ins size range.

Lake of the Ozark water elevation is 657.83'. Truman lake water elevation is 704.65. LOZ water temperature is 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Water discharge through Truman Turbines is 250 CFS and over the spillway was 0 CFS.

Crappie: Good Once again depending on who you talk to crappie fishing is good right now. Brother Bernie caught a real nice crappie haphazardly jigging down at our docks on Saturday and the Queen of Walleye, Kim Gregory, reported her and Joe both limited out on Crappie last weekend at Truman just above the dam. Kim said minnows worked real well for them. Jake the Jig man also reported that Crappie was picking up for him as well. Jake swears by the Red Chartreuse Jig combo.

Largemouth Bass: Good Pete Robinson continues to do real well catching largemouth bass as evidenced by these two photos. He recently fished for several days up Cole Camp Creek with his dad. He said they caught a lot of largemouth and Kentucky (spotted) bass even in the heat. Pete said the bass were hitting a senko soft plastic lure the best but they also caught a few on Texas rigged lizards and Fish Doctors with a 1/4oz split shot weight. The bass they caught were coming out of downed logs and brush piles but in the narrow spots in the creek they could be anywhere as the shade trees create a shadowy canopy over the water. The presence of shad also attracted the bass to the area where they were fishing. Collectively they caught several 21/2 - 3# bass each day and a couple nice 5# bass as well. If the bass are there Pete will find them, he always does. Pete has real good luck fishing up in the feeder streams for which the Lake of the Ozarks is so well known.

Catfish: Excellent Natalie Walton of New Mexico and her beau Air Force Staff Sergeant Nick Hulm did really well fishing for catfish off the end of our docks where they somehow managed to suspend a trot line Saturday night. Nick used livers and live perch for bait and they caught a really nice 25# blue cat. Nick had been home only 2 months from Afghanistan and had just received word he was headed back over there the following week. All of our thoughts and prayers are with you brother. Stay safe and hurry home to Natalie.

Walleye: Excellent Joe and Kim Gregory said it's been so hot that the Walleye are even sweating under the water. When the King and Queen of Walleye report it's too hot to fish for Walleye they are probably right. Kim did tell me about a friend of theirs, Phil Daniels, who caught a really nice 8# Walleye a couple weekends ago while using crank bait in the very deep and cool main channel. Kim said the Walleye are always there, you just have to know what they're hitting.

Stripers: Good Pete and his dad also did real good on catching white bass in the deep holes. Pete said his dad cracked the striper code with a1/8 jig and curly tail grub in chartreuse and white. Pete said his biggest fish was a fat 6# striper that his dad caught and they took home for dinner. I heard that the main current where there is any type of surface movement is producing some nice stripers. Especially up stream below Truman Dam. Find the shad on your fish finder in the evenings and you'll more than likely find the stripers.

Water is 64 degrees, high, muddy; channel catfish, flathead catfish and blue catfish good on live baits; all other species slow.

Report Provided by South Fork Resort:
Lake level is at 611.8. Water clarity in the southern branches is muddy. Seems to be better on the north side. Water temp is at 60 degree's. We got about 2.5" of rain since last Thursday.

CRAPPIE: The bite is on the bank later in the day. You need to move around until you find fish as they are in different stages of the spawn depending on the area of the lake you are fishing. Start in the morning in about 5 FOW and move closer to the bank as the day warms up. I still mostly hear chartreuse if you are using a jig, but minnows seem to be more productive. As always, use a nibble on either of them. You may have to hunt more than a normal spawn period, but the fish have been moving in and out for almost a month now so it is an unusual spring for them. When you find them the fishing can be fantastic with a lot of 11-13 inch fish.

CATFISH: We are seeing more good size blues and flat heads the past couple of weeks. With the rain we have had the channels are also hitting pretty good. Find a spot where the water is running into the lake and toss a crawler out and you should get into some good fishing.

BASS: Largemouth fishing seems to be pretty tough, but you should find some whites out on the main lake near the islands. As always, white and flashy.

Lake Pomme de terre:
Lake is 67 degrees, high, dingy; crappie good on minnows and tube jigs over structure; muskie fair over mudflats; black bass fair on buzzbaits and spinnerbaits in the back of coves; walleye fair on bottom bouncers and jig & minnow or jig & worm combinations off of points; white bass fair on Twister Tails in the rivers; catfish fair on cut baits with trotlines and jug lines; all other species slow.

Stockton Lake:
Water is 61 degrees, high, dingy; catfish good on liver or earthworms from the bank off coves and points; crappie good on minnows and various colored artificial lures in 2 - 15' of water; black bass slow, best on flats and off points in 6 - 15' of water; use jerkbaits of various colors, most common is chartreuse, blue, and white; all other species slow.

Report Provided by Square Deal Bait Shop :

Water is 56 degrees, high, dingy.

Black bass- good on crankbaits off banks in 12' of water.

Crappie- good on minnows and tube jigs in 10 to 15' of water near brush piles,

White bass- good on Rebels and tube baits in upper lake arms.

Catfish- good on nightcrawlers and liver,

all other species slow.

Table Rock Lake:
James River arm): 66 degrees, normal, dingy; black bass good on soft plastic crayfish, Wiggle Warts and grubs, black, pearl or shad colored baits working well, some fish are still on beds in coves and some largemouth are very close to the bank; white bass fair on white or bright yellow Vibric spinners, small diving crankbaits and pearl swimming minnows, trolling is working well; all other species slow. (main lake): 65 degrees, normal, dingy; black bass good on tube baits, medium sized crankbaits and unweighted flukes that look like shad in 5 - 12' of water, watermelon green, pro blue, and all white are best colors; bluegill good on nightcrawlers in shallow water; crappie fair on minnows and small tube baits in 8 - 12' of water, moving closer to shore; all other species slow.

The Table Rock Lake bite is still great. There are still lots of fish being caught in and around spawning pockets on split shot rigs with watermelon candy zoom centepedes as well as chompers cotton candy centepedes. Early in the morning and late in the evening there are fish to be caught around timber and bluff ends on topwater. Redfins and zara spook jrs have been the best. Dragging chompers tubes in green pumpkin and watermelon red colors are still taking some nice smallmouth and kentuckys 8 to 16 foot deep on the main lake and some secondary points and flats. Chompers 5" milky white and 5" watermelon red grubs have been producing well when swam close to the bottom on gravel on the main lake and back in creeks as well. Up in the river arms crankbaits are taking numbers and nice bass as well. 1/2 oz football jigs are taking numbers of bass in the rivers as well. Green pumkin colors are the best so far. Goggle eyes are showing up in mass quanities and will bite grubs and small tubes. These are really great eating fish.

Lake Taneycomo:
Water is 50 degrees, low, clear; trout good on flies (scuds, San Juan worms, midges, and bead head nymphs), Rooster Tails and marabou jigs in the upper portion; trout good on chartreuse, orange, bubblegum, and white colored Power Baits and Little Cleos and while trolling crankbaits in lower portion.

Report Provided by Table Rock Guide Service:

Lake level: 713.3

Well the high water and swift current has helped the size of the trout that are biting. This week we have caught numbers of big rainbows. We are even catching some nice walleye and even smallmouth bass. Red and pink san juan worms on drift rigs have been a solid pattern, as well as drift rigs with orange egg patterns and grey scuds trailing behind. A 1/8oz and 1/4oz white jig is working extremely well as well as small jerkbaits in white and chrome black back colors. Remember the water is high and the fishing is good, but be careful.

Truman Lake:
The lake is 67 degrees, rising, muddy; crappie good on jigs and minnows on banks and flat pockets; black bass good on crankbaits and jigs in pockets and creeks; catfish good on cut shad and jugs, trotlines also working well.

Report Provided by Sterett Creek Marina:

Bass in the grass, hybrids and whites on the humps, crappie on the banks and out deep, and the cats are on the flats. It just doesn't get any better than it is right now. Had a limit of crappie and big hybrids and whites on the front drop of the weir wall this morning dropping a 1/4 ounce jig to the bottom and bouncing is SLOWWWWWWWW! Hybrids were for 3 to 8 pounds, and the crappie were better than average from 11 to 13 inches. Best color was chartreuse and orange. Even with the water on a rapid rise there are still reports of bank crappie in the Grand and Osage arms mid way up on black and chartreuse jigs. Fish 2 to 7 feet of water in the coves on the front edge of the grass. Whites and hybrids with the increase in water flow to 30,000 CFS are on several humps in 12 to 16 feet of water with 3/4 ounce chartreuse sassy shads. We are at a water level approaching 712 so look for the bass to move into the grass in the backs of the creeks, with spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits being the best bet. Blue cats are on fire with perch for bait on jugs fished 10 to 20 feet deep on the main lake flats. If you are into numbers, size, and limits of more than one species of fish now is the time to be at Truman!

Lake Wappapello:
Water is 70 degrees, low, crappie good on minnows and jigs; channel catfish good on trotlines and jug lines using live bait at night; black bass fair on crankbaits and plastic worms; bluegill fair on crickets and worms; all other species slow.
Anglers should note the 9" minimum length limit regulation for crappie on Wappapello Lake.